Motor-vehicle axle.



H`. W. AL-DEN.

MOTOR VEHICLE AXLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB, l. 191s.

Patente-11.111116 27, 1916.

v 2 sains-SHEET 1.

H. w. ALBEN.

1 MOTOR VE-HICLE AXLE.

APPLICATION F!L ED lFEB. I. 1915.

Patented June 27,1916.

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET tion of UNrrED STATES PATENT orrion.

HERBERT W. ALDEN, OF DETROIT, 'MICEIIGAN,l ASSIGNOR TO THE TIMKEN-DTROITA XLE COMPANY, 0F DETROIT,I1VIICIIIGAN, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO. l

Moron-VEHICLE AXL.

To all whom t may concern Wayne, andState of Michigan, have inl vented anew and useful Improvement in Motor-Vehicle Axles, of which thefollowing is a speci'cation.

This invention relates to hollow driving axles for gear driven motorvehicles, and particularly to the formand arrangement of the drivingparts and their mounting, and to a casing `therefor which is suitablefor axles which have no torque rod, radius rod or similar device toresist the driving and braking torque.

One of the objects of this invention is a simple and compact arrangementof the driving and braking parts in connection with a hollow axlecasing, such that the number of parts required is few, the weight of theaxle is small and its center of gravity is close'to its principal axis,and the rotative eect of the driving and braking torque is opposed bythe propelling eort moved and drag of the wheels, whereby the yneed fortorque rods is reduced.

Another object of the invention is low axle having few parts, which isboth strong and light, and to which the spring mountings can be clampedor otherwise secured without rivets orbrazed joints, where-l by thesprings cannot slip or turn and are adapted to carry' the stressesusually carried Further objects of the invention appear hereinafter.

The invention consists' in housing the driving parts in a hollow axlecasing which is non-circular in form, and which is adaptled to rece1veremovable carrier Aframes whichl carry the driving and braking devices.

The invention also consists in the form and arrangement of the spindleends for the hub bearings, and the lconnection between them and themiddle casing member of the hollow axle. l

The invention also consists in a spring hanger or saddle mounted on `theaxle casing and conforming tothe shape of the porthe axle which itsurrounds or, straddles, whereby rotation of the spring around thehollow axle is prevented.

Specification of Letters Patent.

a hol- -disposed bevel The invention further consists in the forms andarrangements of parts shown in the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate two embodiments of the invention.

kIn the drawings, in which the same reference characters designate likeparts in the several views, Figure 1 is a part plan v'iew and part.horizontal section of a portion of an' axle embodying the invention;Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the casing, carrier frame andpedestal, on the line 2-.2 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 in Fig..1, looking inthe direction of the arrows, the saddle and spring being shown in sideview; Fig. 4 is a side view of a portion of the axle shown in Fig. 1,showing the spring saddle with a spring mounted thereon, the springbeing shown in crosssection; Fig. 5 isa horizontal section of the endportion of another 4axle embodying the invention; and Fi-g. 6 is averticalcrosssection ofI the'same, on the line 6,-6 in Fig.

y Patented June 27,1916. Application ,filed February 1, 1915. Serial No.v5,398. i

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5, looking in the direction of the arrows,

the spring and spring hanger being re- 'The'driving axle.shown in Figs.1 to 4 of the drawings includes a substantially rectangular axle casingor housing 10, which has cylindrical tubular extensions 11 at its endsupon which the road wheels 12 are journaled. The hollow axle casing 10is enlarged at the middle to form a chamber for the bevel ldriving gearsand differential gear, to which' accessmay be had through an opening inthe side of the casing which is closed by a removable cover 13. Thedriving shaft sections 14 for driving the road' wheels of the vehicleare arranged 1n y I the tubular ends of the axle, and are withdrawable..endwisetherefrom. The hubs 15 of the road whels overhang the louter endsof thef-axle extensions 11, and are provided with slots in which fitradial teeth 16 on the outer ends `ofthe driving shaft sections v14. Thedriving shaft sections are held in place in the axle by the rhub caps15a, which y screw on the hubs over the outer ends of the driving axlesections. The inner ends.

17 of thel drivin shaft sections arehfslidably en aged in thev ubs ofthe two opposite'ly gears 18 of the differential gear. The bevel gears18 are'journaled-in the spider 19 which carries the small bevel pinions20 of the differential gear, all of'y which parts are mounted in,thedifferential gear drum 21.

The differential gear drum' is rotated from the propeller shaft 22 byrneans of a bevel pinion 23 on the propellerv shaft which meshes with abevel gear 24 secured to a flange which encireles the drum. The bearingsfor the propeller shaft are mounted in a gear carrier 25 which is boltedto one side of the axle casing, and the hubs of the differential geardrum are ljournaled in two pedestals 29, which project from the gearcarrier 25 into the axle housing in axial alinement with the wheel hubs.Tapered roller bearings of an adjustable type are used for mountingbot-h the propeller shaft and the.diiferential drum. ,The bearing onjthe small end of the propeller shaft is mounted in a solidl pedestal 26which is an integral part of the gear carrier, and. the opposite bearingis mounted in an .'ad-

justable sleeve 27 whichscrews into the'gear `ca rrier to take upthewear in the propeller shaft bearings, and which can be locked inadjusted position by a clampingbolt and detent. The Abearing on the hublofthe differential drum next to the large bevel driv- /ing gear isadjustable lengthwise on the hub to take up wear in the bearings for thedrum by means ofan adjusting ring 28, which may `be llocked yin adjustedposition by a lock washer and nut. The other bearing'for the di'erentialdrum is not adjustable on the hub.l The pedestal29 on the side of thedifferential gear' drum next to the largebevel driving gear is solid.The opposite pedestal 30 is split on a vertical plane and provided witha cap 31, and a spacing washer 31a is inserted between the pedestal 30and the cup ofthe bearing arranged therein in order to permitof theassembling of the drumand bearings in the carrier 25.

No provision is made for holding the axle from rotatin must resist tllieaxle casing torque, or forces tending to rotate the axle casing producedby the driving and braking devices. Heretofore, tubular driving axleshave `been circular inform at the spring seats. and in ease nu torquerod was provided it has been necessary to braze or rivet the springsaddles or supports toy the axle tube in order toprevent them vfromrotating thereon, which rotation would permit the axle casing to rotaterelatively tothe springs and disarrange the driving and braking devices.

According to this invention, the axle tub 11 is non-circular in theshape of its periph' ery near its ends; and preferably it is ofapproximately square shape, having flat top and bottom walls, and havingside walls which have a slight outward slant from the upper and lowercorners'to the middle horizontal/plane of the axle. The springs, 32

other thanthe springs, whichv preferably are suspended belou7 the axleby means of a U-shaped hanger 33, as shown inthe drawings; but the partsmay be reversed, and the spring arranged abovethe axle- The suspendedvspring arrangement 1s 7g 4walls of the axle and slanting outward toconform thereto. The side walls 36 of the .hanger also slant outward toconform to the slant of the adjacent portions ofthe side walls of theaxle. The hanger bolts 37, four in number, depend from-the side walls 36of the hanger near its ends on both sides of the axle, and embrace thespring and saddle between them. The spring rests on a plate 38, havingholesin its four corners through which the hanger bolts pass, and theparts are all tightly clamped together byscrewing up the nuts 39 hardagainst the under side of the plate. Suitable means is provided'forlocking the nuts in place. A stud 40, which is riveted or otherwisesecured to the hanger, lits in a hole in the top wall of the axleandpositions the parts lengthwise of the axle. A

The road wheels 12 are each pro-vided with a brake dru'm 41 which issecured on the. inside of the spokes, and which is adapted to be engagedby a friction band 42 arranged of the axle easing 10, and is held from-roj tating with the wheel by means of-an anchor arm.44 carried by thespider. The shaft for the brake actuating cam 45 is also supported bythe spider. The spider has an innerhub 46 which conforms to the squareshape of the axle casing 10 and fits snugly over it, and an outer hub 47which conforms to the round shape of the axle extension 11 and fitssnugly over it, the spider being pressed into -place and held `there bythe wheel bearing.

The driving axle shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is similar in the arrangement ofthe driving parts to that shown in Figs. l to 4. In the structure shownin Figs. 5 and 6 the hollow axle bridge, or load sustaining member,consisting-of the casing 50 and spindle ends 51, is made'of pressedsteel throughout. The casing section 50 is made of pressed steel upperand lower halves, Vwelded together along the horizontal median plane, asshown Y. and described in my Patent No. 1,108,114/v 'The brake spider52fis integral with the 125 axle spindle 5l and forms aldust shield forvshaft section 55 passes through the middle 130 wall of the coneirunsvwhich are -produced of the driving plate and has a loose drivingconnection therewith by means of splines 56 formed on the shaft whichfit in axial grooves in the driving plate hub 57. A pin 58 holds thedriving shaft in position lengthwise -ofthe driving hub 57, and a hubcap 59 screws over the hub 57 and covers the end of the driving shaft'and holds the pin 58 in place.

The wheel hub 53 is journaled on two rings of conical roller bearings60, the cones or inner race members ofl which are mounted on the axlespindle 51. The extremity of the axle spindle is threaded, and adjustingnuts 61 are screwed on it to hold the outer bearing cone 62 in place.Theinner bearingcone 63 abuts against a collar 64 on' the axle spindle,which in 4turn abuts against' the flaring conical wall 65 lwhich'connects the spindle end 51 with the dust shield portion 52. Around thebase ofV the iaring conical wall 65, where it merges into the dustshield' 52, is a flat annular portion which contacts iatwise with anannular circumferential flange 66 on the end of the axle casing 50, andis securely riveted or welded thereto. Lugsor projections 67 on'the dustshield position the fiange spect to the spindle end. The outer end ofthe axle casing form of a cone 68 to meet the flange 66.' The down onthe sides of the square axle easing in the middle of each side, and thecorners of the square axle casing run up on the wallv of the cone,thereby causing an overlapping of the two portions at their junction andforming a gradual transition from one shape to the other which has noone point which is appreciably weaker than the points on each side ofit. The spring saddle 34, clamping bolts 37 and A clamping plate 38 .forthe spring 32 are similar to those described for the axle shown in Figs.1 to 4:. This arrangement does not require that any holes be made in theaxle casing, and so the full cross-sectional area of the steel isavailable to support the weight on the axle and thel driving and brakingtorque, `the bending and twisting stresses maximum at the springsupport.

' and removed as need be.

Among the advantages constructions are the following: First, there arefewer parts than in prior constructions embodying hollow axles, theparts can be lighter for the same strength by reason of their form, andthey can be easily assembled l Second, the form and arrangement of theparts are such that they can be manufactured with precision andassembled with accuracy, and the adjustments are few and easy to make.Third, the parts are compactly arranged in such manner as to lessen themoment of forces acting in couples to produce rotation or ciently vshapeo'f the hanger andsaddle when the 66 concentrically with re is flaredoutward in the thereby being at their of the foregoingl twisting, andthereby rigidity and silent operation are promoted.l Fourth, the squaresection hollow. axle isy stronger than a round section axle ofthe samecrosssectional area, and the square shape of the hollow axle permits theFuse of a simple clamp hanger for supporting the spring whereby thedriving and braking torque can be transmitted to the spring saddle andspring without brazed or riveted connections. Fifth, the outwardlyslantingside walls of the axle can bend sidewise, either out or in,suffito accommodate themselves to the in place, thus insuring a partsare clamped accurately iinishing the good it without axle ends on theoutside; and with the parts tightly clamped in place,

either in or out,` even under heavy side pressure or under torqueresulting from a sudden hard application of the brakes. Sixth, in thecon- 5 and 6, the conical struction shown in Figs.

the side walls of .the axle cannot bend sidewise,

walls connecting the end flanges and the square middle section oftheihollow axle casing strengthen the axle where axles loften break',and the cone and square overlap'rfor a 'short space w'here theymerge,thereby stiffening the junction and largely'preventing localization ofbending stresses at the junction. Seventh, the one piece brake spider,dustshield, and spindle construction of pressed steel does away with allcastingsor forgings in the load sustaining members of the axle; and alsoenables the manufacturing cost of thev axle to be reduced by decreasingthe amount of machine work and accuracy of t required for properlyassembling the spindle and brake parts.

The' invention is not restricted to the precise forms and arrangementsof pa shown inthe drawing.

lI claim the following as my invention:

l. A driving axle for motor vehicles comprising a middle casing sectionadapted to receive driving gearing, said middle section being ofrectangular shape throughout its length withA conical flaring ends, andhollow end sections secured to said middle section, each of said endsections having a cylindrical portion adapted to receive journalbearings and an annular flange at its inner end, and

said axle having annular flanges at the extremities of said flaring endportions se- 'cure'dlat-wise to the annular flanges of said endsections. A

' 2. A driving axle for motor vehicleseomprising a middle casing sectionadapted to receive driving gearing and having squaretubular ends, andhollow end sections secured thereto, each cylindrical portion adapted toreceive journal bearings, and an annular ange at its inner end, andsaidaxleA having annular flanges at its ends secured fiatwise to the ofsaidend sections having a.-

annular flanges of said end sections and con- "motor vehicles, a hollowaxle tube of non-cylindrieal form, driving axle sections arrangedtherein, means t'or rotating said driving axle sections, said meansproducing a reaet-ion 011 said hollow axle tube, a spring saddle havinglugs projecting from one Side,

said lugs conforming to and embracing the sidewalls otl said axle tube,a spring, and means tor clamping said saddle and spring on said axletube, whereby said reaction due to the driving torque is transmitted tosaid spring.

4. A spring support :t'or motor vehicles comprising a hollow axle otnon-cylindrical shape, a saddle having al seat for the spring, andspaced ,lugs projecting from the saddle on the side opposite the springand embracing said axle, a spring seated against said saddle, a.clamping plate for said spring, and a hanger embracing the axle oppositesaid saddle, sald hanger having portions straddling said saddle andspring and engaging said spring lsupporting plate, and means forclamping said parts together upon said axle whereby said axle and springare prevented from relative rotation.

5. A hollow axle tube which is substantially square on its exterior, theside Walls slanting outward from'the top and bottom toward the middlehorizontal plane ot' the axle, a spring saddle having lugs projectingfrom one side and conforming to the slant of said side walls, and meansfor clamping said saddle on said axle tube.

(3. A hollow axle tube having a non-cylindrical. exterior comprisingthintop, bottom and side walls, said side walls having an outwardbulging form, a spring saddle having lugs projecting from one side, saidlugs embracing said axle tube and conforming to the shape ot the sidewalls-thereof, and means for elampingvsaid saddle on said axle tubewhereby the walls thereotl are Stilfened. Signed at Detroit, Mich., this28th day of January, 1915.

' HERBERT W. ALDEN. .lVitnesses Amnnrr E. PicT'riT, lulcsLne WILLLms.

